Collapsible bathtub



y 1949- N. M. BOWARD COLLAPSIBLE BATHTUB 2 Sh ees-Sheat 1 Filed July 30, 1946 y 24, 1949- N. M. BOWARD 2,471,302

COLLAPSIBLE BATHTUB Filed July 50, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /VEZZ/E M 50146480 Gum mg Patented May 24, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFliGEx 3 Claims.

This-invention relates to: collapsible tubs, and more particularly to such'articles manufactured from resilienton' elastic materials composed of rubber :or? thevlike, and which materials are impervioussto air and liquids.

Applicants experience "as' a trained nurse in this'nountry as wellasseveral years inth'e Armed Forcess-otzthe United States,- and. especially the Pacificvfields ofiioperation, hasiimpressed hertoi the: great necessity fortheproper bathing of patients while in bed.

Tlferphysi'cal,conditionof. many infirm patients will not permit them beingremoved from their bed. This is trueespecially in some types of heart teases-rand diseases which: might prove fatal upon any excessive physical exertion.

The present artor practice of bathing patients in bed is usually done with a pan and sponge; the patient being moved on the bed to various positions for. asponge bath.

One of :the .objects. of. this invention is the provision of. a collapsible. tub. adapted to 'be used forz-th -bathing. of apatient while in bed.

Anothen'objectsis.theprovision of a collapsible tubrwhiohemaybe inflated ordeflated.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a tub which may be placed (in deflated condition) under a patient in bed, and then inflated to form a liquid container for bathing purposes.

A still further object is the provision of a collapsible tub in operative relation with a liquid, air and drainage system.

Other objects and features will more fully appear from the following description and accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective showing the tub on a bed and in operative relation with the conveyor; Fig. 2 a sectional view of the tub taken along lines 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 a sectional view of the conveyor; Fig. 4 a sectional view of the conveyor taken along lines 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 a sectional view taken along lines 5-5 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 6, a sectional view of the tub.

Referring to the drawings, a tub I consists of a base 2, to which is secured a tubular wall 3. The base and wall are made of resilient impervious material, and when the latter is inflated, projects upwardly from the base so as to form the tub or receptacle for containing a liquid.

A pillow or head rest 4 is secured to a portion of the Wall and base, and a Valve 5 in the wall permits the passage of air into the pillow. A valve 6 in the pillow permits the air therein to pass therefrom, and by such provision the pillow may be deflated independently of thewall; all

of which .is clearly disclosedrin Figs. 1 .and 5.

The tub I is adaptedto be placed uponfiaabed f finial-deflated condition. When. azpatient is in: bed, the'deflated tub is slipped? under-the occupant and the wall inflated, thereby encasing'such patient. The pillow, if. needed',.maytalsor be: inflated, by opening valve 5 to.permit:air to passifrom' the wall into the-pillow. When. the t pillow has been inflated, as desired,:. V2.1V8l5 'lSf closed.

The tub is in operative relation with a com veyor 8 supported upon wheels and consists of a tank-9 for holding ahot liquid and-a tankilll? for r'containing' a cold liquid. A .tan'k ll isin juxtaposition to tank I!) and.isfiadaptedetore ceivea'liquid drained from the tub. Atop I 2 is provided with a plurality of apertures 1-I3Fand 1 is mounted upon supports 14 secured to the im-:-

sidewalls of tank] I.

A rack I5 is secured to tank top: l2 and is? adapted to support the:tub asclearly showmin; Fig. 4. It isobvious that top l2ialong with rack l5rmay be removed so as to .providean opening I6 is secured for cleansing tank II. A handle to the rear wall of tank II for an operative to use in moving the conveyor. A plurality of shelves ll are disposed beneath tank 9 and secured to the wall of tank II as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3. These shelves may be used for the storage of linen, soap, and such essentials necessary for bathing purposes, as well as medicinal requirements of a person to be washed. A faucet l8 connects tank H for the drainage of a liquid therefrom.

Tanks 9 and I!) are insulated for the purposes of retaining the temperatures of liquids in each tank. Each of the tanks is provided with a top pivotally connected as disclosed in Fig. 3.

An automatic air pressure tank [9 is secured to the conveyor and is provided with an air valve 20. An air tube 2| has one of its ends connected to the valve pipe and the other to an air inlet pipe 22 housed in a resilient block 23 (see Fig. 6) secured within wall 3. Pipe 22 is provided with a valve 24 which controls the flow of air in and out of wall 3. Assuming wall 3 is deflated and it is desired to inflate it, valves 20-24 are opened and air flows from tank l9 into wall 3, thereby inflating the latter. When the wall has been inflated to the desired point, valve 24 is closed. The wall may also be inflated by a pump 25 (Fig. 3) by removing the tube 2| and connecting the hand pump and manually pumping air into the wall. The wall may be deflated by removing tube 21 and opening valve 24.

When wall 3 is inflated, liquid is supplied to the tub as follows: The hot water tank 9 has an outlet pipe 26 connected to the basal portion of the tank and a valve 21 for controlling the flow of a liquid therefrom; while the cold water tank I has an outlet pipe 28 connected to the basal portion of said tank, and a valve 29 controls the flow of a liquid therefrom. A conduit pipe 39 connects with valves 21 and 29 (Fig. 1) and has disposed therein a valve 3| which is adapted to mix the liquid from both tanks in order to obtain a temperature suitable for bathing purposes.

A tube 32 connects with one end of an inlet pipe 33 disposed in block 23, and has a valve 34 for controlling the flow of a liquid into the tub while a valve 35 in pipe 33 is adapted for connecting with a shower attachment 36. Water is supplied to the tub by opening valves 2l--2934, valve 35 being closed, and valve 3! is opened in adjustable fashion to permit the flow of a correctly mixed and temperatured liquid into the tub. When suflicient liquid has been supplied to the tub, valve 34 is closed.

If the shower attachment is desired to be used, valve 3 is closed and valve 35 opened and the liquid is supplied to pipe 33 as hereinbefore described. It is to be understood that a liquid may be supplied to the tub by and from other sources; such for instance, from the water system usually found in homes and hospitals.

The liquid is drained from the tub through a drain pipe 31 disposed in block 23. The pipe 31 has a valve 38 for controlling the flow of liquid from the tub, and a tube 39 is connected to the drain tank about an aperture 49 therein and the liquid passes from the tub through pipe 3?, tube 39 and into said drain tank. The drained liquid may be removed from the tank by opening faucet 3.

After the liquid has been drained from the tub, the latter is removed from the bed and placed upon rack I where it may be washed, and the liquid from the tub falls upon drain tank top from whence it passes through the apertures into drain tank H.

Having described this invention, what is claimed is:

1. A unitary tub construction comprising a flexible base impervious to liquid and air, a flexible wall secured to the edge portion of said base and adapted to be inflated or deflated, and a control block secured within said wall, in association with a liquid inlet pipe, a liquid outlet pipe, and an air inlet pipe, all said pipes carried by said block and said wall for controlling the inflation and deflation of said flexible Wall, and for controlling the flow of liquid into and out of the bottom of said tub.

2. A unitary device of the character described comprising a flexible tub having a peripheral wall capable of being inflated or deflated, a pillow enclosed by said peripheral wall and secured to said tub, and adapted to be inflated and deflated and a control block secured within said wall in association with conduit means carried by said block to provide passages for the flow of air into said peripheral wall and said pillow, and for the flow of liquid into and out of the bottom of the tub.

3. A unitary device of the character described comprising a flexible tub having a peripheral wall capable of being inflated or deflated, and a control block secured within said wall, in association With conduit means carried by said block to provide passages for the flow of air into said peripheral wall, and for the flow of liquid into and out of the bottom of the tub.

NELLIE MARGARET BOWARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 573,625 Rufiner Dec. 22, 1896 736,089 Gray Aug. 11, 1903 755,747 Coile Mar. 29, 1904 846,236 Noble Mar. 5, 1907 1,721,571 Miller July 23, 1929 1,759,348 Fishman May 20, 1930 

